Producer of Interest
by Jassic M
Summary: The Machine gives Finch and Reese a certain executive producer's number. The anchor did say she was a threat.


_The Machine gives Finch and Reese a certain executive producer's number. The anchor did say she was a threat. (A The Newsroom and Person of Interest crossover fanfic.)_

**PROLOGUE: This Just In**

"We're getting too much negative press nowadays."

"Not exactly my fault, you were the one who had to cross lines. He is just calling attention to them."

"He must be stopped."

"Don't worry. I know exactly how."

* * *

"A new number is up Mr. Reese."

"And a good morning to you too, Finch."

The bespectacled recipient of the greeting did not bother to look up. By this time around, he's used to the tall man's japes, and he was smart enough not to smile at these whenever Reese was with him.

John Reese smiled anyway, gave Bear an appreciative pat on the head and looked at their board.

"Mackenzie McHale, currently the executive producer of News Night with Will McAvoy -"

Reese held up a hand, startling Harold Finch, and effective enough to silence him. "Say no more Finch, I understand why she is in trouble."

Finch raised an eyebrow at this. "In trouble, Mr. Reese?"

Reese tapped on her picture. "She's causing quite a stir through that show." Finch remained silent, so Reese took it as a cue and continued, "News Night with Will McAvoy has been ruffling the feathers of different groups of people - the Tea Party, some Christian groups, the works. Started when she took over - while some have been pleased at this shift, some have... Well... If The Machine gave us her number, it may mean they've pushed someone's buttons too hard."

"She's a victim then?" A shrug. She doesn't look that threatening to me." The printer gave a beep, prompting Finch to pick up the printouts for their use. "Nonetheless Mr. Reese," he started as he taped them out on the board. "Our previous experiences show that not everyone with a sweet smile is a victim, and not everyone with a gruff exterior is a threat."

Reese ruffled Bear on his head as he hung his coat. "This job always has it's surprises."

"And so do they."

* * *

"Ever have the feeling someone's watching you?"

Sloan Sabbith looked intently at Mackenzie McHale as she read through her report for the night's broadcast. The crease in her forehead indicated that she wasn't fully understanding the details the piece of paper was giving her.

She confirmed it when it took Mac two minutes for her to reply with a "What?"

Sloan took this as an invite to chat, so she continued on. "I mean, like there's this one specific pair of eyes who takes note of the things you do, hears the things you say... Takes particular interest in your... Everything."

She could see that Mac's eyes went back to the top of the page, another attempt at absorbing Sloan's work.

"Mac?"

A sigh. "As always, I trust your report. So, give them fiscal hell, Miss Sabbith."

"Mac."

The executive producer bit her lip. "I am slowly understanding these reports Sloan, slowly. With a lot of emphasis on slowly. And I am reading up on those books you gave me... It's just..."

Mac's wistful look made Sloan ask too fast. "Is it Will?"

"When wasn't it Will?"

Within the next half hour, Mac was able to tell Sloan all about the events within the last few months- ratings were on a steady high, but Reese Lansing was not satisfied, Will being a bit too abrasive on some Conservative groups, and Habib calling every now and then asking if Will was fine, as he had been skipping some sessions.

To which, all Sloan could reply to was, a small, yet noticeable look of confusion.

"Will is a grown up boy, he can handle this." said the economist.

"Will is a huge idiot and I am simply waiting for his next bizarro blowup to arrive." replied the executive producer. "I need it to come right now so that I may have a moment's peace."

"I stand corrected, Will needs to grow up... For all our sakes." The comment made Mac laugh, and though Sloan doesn't understand the reason, she was grateful for the lighter feeling she just gave.

Mac let out a satisfied smile, as she gathered up her things for her meeting with Charlie. "One day, he will... Meanwhile, I might let Charlie handle Will's... Things..."

Before parting ways, Mac asked Sloan, "What was that thing you were asking me back then?"

Sloan paused, earnestly trying to remember. "You know what, I forgot... Maybe it's not that relevant."

* * *

"She has seen and felt the dangers of Afghanistan, made reports and won awards for them. She returned 2010, restoring what is known in news circles as 'the media elite', with William Duncan McAvoy - current anchor and managing editor of News Night."

Finch brought up a few screen captures of news clippings related to their Irrelevant. Reese skimmed through them - news items about her and by her were categorised neatly by year.

"McAvoy, her former boyfriend, is known to have a bit of a temper. Flared up when she came back, mellowed out at times, but it goes up and down - essentially unpredictable. Ever since turning to the one man reformer of everything that is wrong, he's been the target of death threats, which led them to hire Lonny Church, his personal body guard."

Reese became attentive at the mention of the name. "I know him."

"Yes, I know. And I was hoping we could use it to our advantage."

"And he is my entry point?"

A nod from Finch was the answer.

"Don't tell me you bought another security firm."

Finch shrugged his shoulder. "I just acquired part of the company. The owner had no choice, lest he wants his indiscretions to be made known."

A mock look of disapproval came from Reese.

"Blackmail, Finch?"

"It was his own fault Mr. Reese. For someone who owns a security firm, he was certainly lax about his video collection."

Reese allowed himself to smile, but then turned serious once he turned his back on the board. "I had a feeling you wanted to approach this differently," he said, only to find Finch was now seated, face mixed with concern and the look Reese had identified as Finch saw something in the Internet which made him question everything.

"Over the last few days, News Night's comments section has been, well, considerably calm. Save for your usual comments teeming with grammatical errors, it was business as usual..."

"And then yesterday, these comments - threats - aimed at Mr. McAvoy came in at the rate of 1000 death threats per minute, almost overloading the capacity of their servers. I have checked into the email exchanges between Mr. McAvoy and the News Division president, Charles Skinner, and it appears that the urgency for Mr. Church's services have been elevated to the highest level possible."

Reese waited for the "however" part of the situation.

"However, Mr. McAvoy is not in favour of this arrangement. Whether it's for consideration on Mr. Church's current relationship status - he is actively pursuing someone - or simply because he doesn't want full protection, it is not yet clear."

Finch turned to Reese. "Based on the gist of the threats, the danger will come to Mr. McAvoy sooner that they expect."

* * *

Lonny put in his brisk walk to a faster level. Yes, he knew Will wasn't agreeing with the new plan, but the man's life was in danger, and he was the one put in charge for his safety.

The "new plan" mainly involved being beside Will McAvoy 24/7, "Even if it means showering with him, and sleeping with him." Charlie had said, giving him mental images he hasn't removed from his brain yet.

And Will wasn't making things easy.

"McAvoy!" he yelled, mentally strangling Will as he was ignored. "Slow down, or I will make you slow down."

"MAKE ME!" Will yelled back.

"I AM NOT AFRAID TO USE MY WEIGHT ON YOU MAN!"

At this, he ran to Will and nudged him painfully to the wall, the anchor giving the "Oomph" that satisfied Lonny. Will dropped his portfolio, and tried to push Lonny away. A few more feeble attempts, and he gave up.

"Damn, you are heavy."

"Yeah, and I will not hesitate to sleep on top of you so you won't escape again."

The pause was there as soon as the two men realised what was said. But Lonny Church was unfazed.

"I will let you go as soon as you swear by Charlie Skinner's pink bow tie that you will accept the fact that you are stuck with me, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week."

Will did not say anything.

"And, that unfortunately, for the two of us, that means me being within the same two meter radius. Wherever. You. Are."

Again, nothing from the anchor.

"And, that I will regularly update both Charlie and Mac on your activities and whereabouts. Even if that means informing them that you are currently getting your weekly facial or getting your hair done."

Finally, a resigned sigh. "Fine."

Slowly, Lonny released Will from his clutches, and the two men started fixing themselves and ignoring the stares of people passing by. With a shrug of his shoulders and a nod, Will asked Lonny if he was ready. Wordlessly, they walked together down the street.

Will broke the silence with a question. "How come you agreed to this Lonny?"

It was his turn to shrug. "You know I don't love you that much," he paused, looked at how Will reacted to this. Satisfied with the "Are you kidding me" smirk, Lonny continued, "But I could not resist Mac's face when she asked." Again, he turned to Will, who looked like he was fuming at this reason.

"Also, I could not say no to Charlie. The guy looks wise and sagely, but man, he also looks like he can still kick ass."

"That's Charlie Skinner to you," Will agreed. "Must be his time during his service."

At this, Lonny started to light up. "Are you shitting me now, McAvoy?"

"You've been working as my body guard for months now, and you had no idea Charlie had some military background?"

"Can't blame me if your boss looked trust worthy."

"And I am not?"

"Try wearing a bow tie, might help."

"Yeeaahh. You know, there's something about the bow tie -"

Shots rang out.

Lonny managed to shove Will into a restaurant, though he hit the doors on the way in.

The last thing Will McAvoy remembered was Lonny lying face down on the floor and a black coat slicing through the scene, grunts filling the air.

* * *

Reese was standing near the nurse's station when Finch came in from the other line. "Are you all right John?" He smiled. Natural for him to worry whenever he can hear sounds of pain, even though it occurred rather frequently every other day.

"I am," he replied. "Not sure about the attackers though."

He hears Finch let out a sigh of relief, and his lecture on how he should assume the cover identity of "bodyguard" as subtle as he could. He countered with how the gunman was actually the clear window of opportunity they had to get to Ms. McHale.

As if on cue, a worried Mackenzie McHale came bristling through with an equally worried Charlie Skinner by her side. He shifted from his place to get a better look, and started to pair his device with hers.

"We've got contact Finch," he said, as he adjusted his earpiece to listen in.

"Where is he? Is he hurt? Is he safe?" these and more questions went through before she stopped when the nurse held up a hand. "Which injured party are you referring to ma'am?" the nurse asked, his cold voice piercing through the tension.

Mac started to mutter. "Billy... Will.. Will McAvoy..."

The nurse ruffled through the records he had, and got a clipboard from the station. "Mr McAvoy has suffered a slight concussion due to him bumping his head at a restaurant door. So far he's good, but we would like to take some scans before releasing him..."

"Oh thank God..." Charlie sighed, as he started to rub Mac's back and assuring him that things are fine.

The nurse seemed to have overheard, because he followed, "As for the other guy. Lonny Church... Well... He took the bullet intended for Mr. McAvoy-" a whimper came from Mac, but he ignored it and went on. "He's in surgery now, but we are confident he'll make it through. He took it... Well, let's just say Mr. McAvoy owes him another ass."

The nurse chuckled at his own joke, but neither Mac nor Charlie were laughing. He cleared his throat, and continued. "The bullet is currently being removed from his left posterior, and he may need time to recover. I understand he is Mr. McAvoy's bodyguard, so I would suggest getting a replacement for him, as it will be some time before Mr. Church can resume his duties."

"And we are in," Reese heard Finch declare, along with the faint sound of the keyboard clicks.

"I have shuffled through her e-mails Mr. Reese, nothing you might consider dangerous or incriminating... Considering she is a journalist, the e-mails are your average memos on various news items. Her schedule appears to place her within the confines of the AWM Building all day, every day. She should be safe... I am sending you a copy of this week' schedule..."

Like clockwork, Reese browsed through the schedule, and true enough, it would seem that she would only move from floor to floor, meeting room to another meeting room. "So it would seem that she shouldn't encounter any threats..."

"Unless it comes from the people she works with..." Finch's voice wavered a bit, and he kept Reese up to date. He was now looking into Will McAvoy's schedule - and that's where another problem presented itself. "Mr. Reese, it appears that using Mr. Church as a point of entry might not be the best way to keep an eye on her, as it entails that Mr. McAvoy's bodyguard remain close with him - her instructions."

Reese waited for Finch to continue, as he took note of the other man across the hallway, who appeared to be interested in Mac as well.

"We have to make do with what we have Finch, looks like someone's keeping tabs on Miss McHale as well."

He saw Charlie reach for his Blackberry, and at the same time he saw an e-mail come in. "I have scheduled a meeting with Mr. Skinner this Monday, to discuss the temporary replacement of Mr. Church with one of our best."

"Aww, I appreciate the commendation Harold," Reese said, noting that the mysterious man from the opposite side was in the process of sending a message from his phone.

"Finch, can you keep an eye on Mac for a while... I need to check on my fellow stalker..."

"'Fellow stalker' Mr. Reese?" A slight shift in tone as Finch was manipulating through the hospital's surveillance feeds to get a better look. He saw Reese keeping a safe distance as another suited man went through his way outside.

He returned the focus back on where Mac and Charlie were, and with a few commands into his desktop, he used Mac's Blackberry to listen in to their conversation.

"Charlie," Mackenzie started as she was pacing in front of the old man. "If this was all brought out... By the chaser report we- we made on..." Finch continued to move through the feeds for the perfect view.

The old man stood up, and stopped her by holding her squarely on the shoulders. "Whether this attack was from them, or if it's a new one, threats won't stop coming to us. We decided that we'll be on the fight to give the facts, and if this is how they respond, so be it."

Charlie then gave Mac a hug, and went back to soothing her. "It just so happens that Will is in the front line. He's fighting the good fight - WE are fighting the good fight."

He let go of the now calm producer, and looked at her. "But that doesn't mean I'm not going to take this sitting down."

* * *

The protective grill to the main room opened, which made Bear bound towards the man who had entered. Coming to view, Reese found Finch on speakerphone.

"You're surprisingly calm in this situation Mr -"

Reese recognised the man on the other line as Charles Skinner. "Warbler sir, Harold Warbler. We hope you do not take this the wrong way, but they have alerted me of your situation when I acquired the private security division. Seeing as Mr. McAvoy is one of our high level clients, I took it upon myself to reach out to you."

Finch did not give Charlie the opportunity to speak. "I will be coming in on Monday to introduce myself and Mr. Church's replacement. Rest assured that we will be giving Mr. McAvoy the best bodyguard in our service."

Both of them heard Charlie's resigned sigh. "Okay then. Monday. Ten o'clock as I said. I'll bring in Will and Mackenzie McHale - she'll insist."

That news made Finch smile - at least things can start on easy footing.

The call ended, and Finch faced Reese. "We're in."


End file.
